Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation, which was renamed Degrassi from the tenth season and on, is the current series set in the fictional Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi: The Next Generation is currently the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and succeeds ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', ''Degrassi Junior High'', and ''Degrassi High''. Like its predecessors, Degrassi: The Next Generation follows a group of students at Degrassi Community School who face various challenges of teenage life, such as poor self image, peer pressure, child abuse, sexual identity, gang violence, self harm, teenage pregnancy, and drug use. The series was created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, and is produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. The current executive producers are Schuyler, her husband Stephen Stohn and Brendon Yorke. The series has received critical praise throughout its run from many different outlets including Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and AfterElton.com. In its initial years, it was frequently the most watched domestic drama series in Canada, and it is the highest-rated show on TeenNick in the United States. In 2004, for example, one episode received just under a million viewers in Canada, and over half a million viewers in the US. In recent seasons, however, viewing figures have begun to drop. The series has won numerous awards, from the Geminis, Writers Guild of Canada and Directors Guild of Canada, and internationally from the Teen Choice Awards, Young Artists Awards, and Prix Jeunesse. The series premiered on CTV on 14 October 2001. In 2010, during the ninth season, the series moved to CTV's youth-oriented sister channel, MuchMusic. The tenth season premiered on 19 July 2010, and 232 episodes have aired as of 22nd April 2011, and season 11 began filming in March 2011. Season 10 began filming in March 2010, and marked a change in production style which saw the series become more like a soap opera. The first half of the season aired 24 episodes in six weeks. The series has been syndicated on cable television, and episodes are available on DVD and in new media download formats from Puretracks, the iTunes Store, and the Xbox Live Marketplace. Internationally, Degrassi: The Next Generation has been highly successful in the US, and it is broadcast in 140 countries. Production Premise The show starts off with reintroducing the character Emma Nelson from Degrassi High, where she was born to Christine Nelson. In this series Emma and her friends are entering Junior High and High School. The challenges and issues that the characters face sometimes mirror what the previous series had, but also have new issues that deal with the current times, such as school shootings and current views on people of Islamic decent. Episode Format Each individual episode of Degrassi is written usually following the same formula with two or three storylines featured (Plot A, Plot B and Plot C). The main storyline, Plot A, opens and closes the episode and is usually driven by a single character. Plot B is usually more comedic in tone and sometimes slightly intertwined with the other stories, often moving story arcs forward. Plot C was usually used sporadically in a season-long arc, but is now used in every episode as comedic relief. The problems and issues presented in the episode are not always resolved by the end of the episode, and are carried over to the next, or create a mini-arc over several episodes. The majority of episodes are named after songs from the 1980s and since the tenth season, episodes are named after songs from the 2000s. For the first nine seasons, Degrassi: The Next Generation had been produced as a weekly half-hour teen drama series, with each season consisting of between fifteen and twenty-four episodes. Due to falling viewing figures between seasons six and nine, the series developed a daily soap opera format for the summer run of the tenth season, and increased the number of episodes to forty-eight. The tenth season also dropped the tagline "The Next Generation", with only one original cast member remaining, and due to the young audience unfamiliar with the past generation, referring to the series as "Degrassi". Opening Sequence The Degrassi: The Next Generation opening sequence follows a two- to three-minute cold open. During the first five seasons these credits showed the characters on the school premises and followed a mini storyline. Seasons six and seven featured titles with the actors breaking the fourth wall and facing the camera, over a montage of character videos from past seasons, saturated with blue colour and gold outlines. The montages behind the characters depicting a major event in that character's storyline. For the eighth season, the show abandoned the style of titles used for the previous two seasons and returned to the original form of showing the characters at school while participating in school-related activities The theme music, "Whatever It Takes", was written by Austin Russell, Jody Colero and Stephen Stohn. McGrath composed the music, and Colero and Stohn wrote the lyrics which include the lines, "Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through/Be the best, the best I can be", to convey a sense of joy and optimism. Lisa Dalbello performed the lyrics with a children's choir over an 80s pop music style tune during the first three seasons. Dave Ogilvie and Anthony Valcic of Canadian industrial/pop group Jakalope reworked and performed the song with a heavier sound, reflecting the growing maturity of the characters in season four. For seasons six and seven, the theme—still performed by Jakalope—was remixed and stripped of vocals. A fourth version of the theme song, with lyrics sung by Damhnait Doyle, was introduced for the eighth season. A fifth version of the theme, performed by the in-show band "Stüdz" is being used for the ninth and tenth seasons. A sixth version of the theme will be performed during the eleventh season by Tia from "Eve And The Ocean" and a 46-Part Children's Choir. Soundtrack Jim McGrath creates the musical score for each episode using an instrumental version of the theme music. He also works with actors such as Jake Epstein, Melissa McIntyre and Jamie Johnston, when writing music for their characters Craig Manning, Ashley Kerwin and Peter Stone to perform in the bands Downtown Sasquatch, Paige Michalchuk and the Sex Kittens (PMS), Hell Hath No Fury, and Studz. In addition to being scored, Degrassi features a mix of original emo, alternative rock and pop music. Popular songs are used sparingly in the series, mainly because of budget constraints. Usually, music supervisor Jody Colero selects songs from little-known, unsigned Canadian artists. Cast Main Cast The Main Cast of the show are considered to be the ones seen in the opening credits. Currently Stefan Brogren is the only one of the original main cast members (out of thirteen) that is currently on the show. Christina Schmidt was the first original cast member to leave the show, while Miriam McDonald, Cassie Steele, and Shane Kippel were the latest. Evan Williams was the first character from the new generation to leave the show, while Judy Jiao was the latest. Current Main cast (Current Main characters are listed on how long they have been a main cast member and which season they were first introduced) * Stefan Brogren – Archie Simpson (seasons 1-present) * Charlotte Arnold - Holly J. Sinclair (seasons 7-present) * Jajube Mandiela - Chantay Black (seasons 8-present, recurring seasons 4-7) * Aislinn Paul - Clare Edwards (seasons 8-present, guest starring season 6-7) * Raymond Ablack - Sav Bhandari (seasons 8-present, recurring season 7) * Samantha Munro - Anya MacPherson (seasons 8-present, recurring season 7) * Sam Earle - K.C. Guthrie (seasons 8-present) * Argiris Karras - Riley Stavros (seasons 8-present) * AJ Saudin - Connor Deslauriers (seasons 8-present) * Melinda Shankar - Alli Bhandari (seasons 8-present) * Annie Clark - Fiona Coyne (seasons 9-present) * Jahmil French - Dave Turner (seasons 9-present) * Landon Liboiron - Declan Coyne (seasons 9-present) * Jessica Tyler - Jenna Middleton (seasons 9-present) * Spencer Van Wyck - Wesley Betenkamp (season 10-present, guest appearance season 9) * Luke Bilyk - Drew Torres (season 10-present) * Munro Chambers - Eli Goldsworthy (season 10-present) * Alicia Josipovic - Bianca DeSousa (season 10-present) * Cory Lee - Winnie Oh (season 10-present) * Jordan Todosey - Adam Torres (season 10-present) * Shannon Kook-Chun - Zane Park (season 10.5-present, recurring season 10, guest starring season 9) * Daniel Kelly - Owen Milligan (season 10.5-present, recurring season 10) * Cristine Prosperi - Imogen Moreno (season 11-present) * Chloe Rose - Katie Matlin (season 11-present) * Justin Kelly - Jake Martin (season 11-present) Former Main Cast (Former Main Cast are listed on how long they were considered a main cast member and than by which season they were first introduced) * Shane Kippel – Spinner Mason (seasons 1-9) * Miriam McDonald – Emma Nelson (seasons 1-9) * Cassie Steele – Manny Santos (seasons 1-9) * Sarah Barrable-Tishauer – Liberty Van Zandt (seasons 1-8, guest starring season 9) * Lauren Collins – Paige Michalchuk (seasons 1-7, guest starring season 8) * Aubrey Graham – Jimmy Brooks (seasons 1-7, guest starring season 8) * Ryan Cooley - J.T. Yorke (seasons 1-6) * Jamie Johnston – Peter Stone (seasons 5-10) * Amanda Stepto – Christine Nelson (seasons 3-7, recurring seasons 1-2, guest starring season 8-9) * Jake Goldsbie – Toby Isaacs (seasons 1-5, recurring season 6-7, guest starring season 8) * Adamo Ruggiero – Marco Del Rossi (seasons 3-7, recurring season 2, guest starring seasons 8-9) * Stacey Farber – Ellie Nash (seasons 3-7, recurring season 2, guest starring season 8) * Daniel Clark – Sean Cameron (seasons 1-4 and 6, guest starring season 7) * Melissa McIntyre – Ashley Kerwin (seasons 1-4, recurring seasons 6-7, guest starring season 5) * Jake Epstein – Craig Manning (seasons 2-5, guest starring seasons 6-8) * Pat Mastroianni - Joey Jeremiah (seasons 2-5, guest starring season 1) * Dan Woods - Daniel Raditch (seasons 1-4) * Mike Lobel – Jay Hogart (seasons 5-7, recurring seasons 3-4 and 8-9) * Melissa DiMarco – Daphne Hatzilakos (seasons 5-7, recurring seasons 2-4 and 9, guest starring season 8) * Dalmar Abuzeid - Danny Van Zandt (seasons 7-9, recurring seasons 4-6) * Stacie Mistysyn - Caitlin Ryan (seasons 3-5, recurring seasons 1-2, guest starring season 7) * Andrea Lewis - Hazel Aden (seasons 3-5, recurring seasons 1-2) * Christina Schmidt - Terri MacGregor (season 1-3) * Paula Brancati - Jane Vaughn (seasons 7-9) * Judy Jiao - Leia Chang (seasons 8-10) * Deanna Casaluce – Alex Nuñez (seasons 5-6, recurring seasons 3-4, guest starring season 7) * Shenae Grimes – Darcy Edwards (seasons 6-7, recurring seasons 4-5, guest starring season 8) * Marc Donato - Derek Haig (seasons 7-8, recurring seasons 5-6) * Nina Dobrev - Mia Jones (seasons 7-8, recurring season 6, guest starring season 9) * Scott Paterson - Johnny DiMarco (seasons 8-9, recurring season 7, guest starring seasons 6 and 10) * Natty Zavitz - Bruce the Moose (seasons 8-9, recurring season 7) * Jordan Hudyma - Blue Chessex (seasons 8-9) * Mazin Elsadig - Damian Hayes (season 7, recurring season 6) * Evan Williams - Kelly Ashoona (season 8, recurring season 9) Recurring Cast Recurring Cast Members are actors whose characters have been seen in more than one episode (with the exception of two part episodes. Michael Kinney has been a recurring cast member for the entire series. Current Recurring Cast (Current recurring cast members are listed on how long they were on the show and when they were first introduced) * Michael Kinney - Coach Armstrong (seasons 1-present) * Tom Melissis - Tom Perino (seasons 2-present) * Jennifer Podemski - Chantel Sauvé (seasons 2-present) * Paula Boudreau - Ms. Dawes (seasons 8-present) * James Edward Campbell - Mark Fitzgerald (season 9-present) * Joy Tanner - Laura Coyne (seasons 9-present) * Shanice Banton - Marisol Lewis (season 10-present) * Ben Lewis - Bobby (season 10-present) * Ramona Milana - Audra Torres (season 10-present) Former Recurring Cast (Former Main Cast are listed on how long they were considered a main cast member and which season they were first introduced) Note: This list is incomplete. * Linlyn Lue - Laura Kwan (seasons 1-9) * John Bregar - Dylan Michalchuk (Season 3-6) * Maria Ricossa - Kate Kerwin (seasons 1-4) * Alex Steele - Angela Jeremiah (seasons 2-5) * Marie Cruz - Julietta Santos (seasons 3 and 5-7) * Conrad Coates - Germaine Brooks, Mr. Brooks (seasons 4-7) * Kristen Holden Ried - Tracker Cameron (seasons 1-3) * Caroline Park - Kim Song (seasons 5-7) * Larissa Vouloukos - Isabella Jones (seasons 6-8, guest starring season 9) * Maria Vacratsis - Sheila (seasons 1-3) * Nigel Hamer - Jeff Isaacs (season 1-2) * Katie Lai - Kendra Mason (seasons 2-3) * Shawn Roberts - Dean Walton (seasons 2 and 4) * Kit Weyman - Sully (seasons 2-3) * Mony Yassir - Nadia Yamir (seasons 2-3) * Bailey Corneal - Amy Peters-Hoffman (seasons 3-4) * Ephraim Ellis - Rick Murray (seasons 3-4) * Elisa Moolecherry - Sydney (seasons 3-4) * Daniel Morrison - Chris Sharpe (seasons 3-4) * Christopher Jacot - Matt Oleander (seasons 4-5) * Von Flores - Joseph Santos (seasons 5 and 7) * Steve Belford - Jesse Stefanovic (seasons 6-7) * Dwain Murphy - Eric (seasons 6-7) * Joe Pingue - Tony (seasons 6-7) * Gina Clayton - Zoey Jones (seasons 7-8) * Doug Morency - Henrie Bince (seasons 7-8) * Marc Minardi - Lucas Valieri (season 7, guest starring season 8) * Kevin Jubinville - The Shep (season 8, guest starring season 9) * Fielding Horan - Oscar Reese (season 1) * Hugh Dillon - Albert Manning (season 2) * Travis Donegan - Trey "Towerz" Hightower (season 3) * Jonathan Keltz - Nate Harvey (season 4) * Philip Nozuka - Chester Bloom (season 4) * Nicolas Correia Damude - Diane (season 5) * Devon Bostick - Nic Garcia (season 6) * Nathan Stephenson - Griffin Pierce-Taylor (season 7) * Terra Vnesa - Trina (season 7) * Hayley Andoff - Gweneth (season 8) * Nicole Dicker - Becca (season 8) * Loretta Yu - Vickie (season 8) * Wesley Morgan - Sam (season 9) Broadcast and Distribution First run broadcast While Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High aired in Canada on CBC, Degrassi: The Next Generation is broadcast on CTV Globemedia-owned stations. For the first nine-and-a-half seasons, it aired on CTV, but due to a decline in viewing figures since season seven, it moved to CTV's teen-oriented sister channel MuchMusic in 2010. The French language channel VRAK.TV dubs the series into French and airs it under the title Degrassi, la nouvelle génération. In the United States, where Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series aired on PBS, Degrassi: The Next Generation airs on the digital cable network, TeenNick (previously known as The N), and is the longest-running program on the channel, having aired since the channel's launch in 2002. Seasons six and seven premiered on The N before they aired on CTV. Post broadcast distribution In Canada, repeats of Degrassi: The Next Generation have aired on the television system A'', which is owned by CTV Globemedia. Episodes from season 4-7 aired during the afternoon at 12:30pm ET and evenings at 7:30pm ET. However, since July 2010, these episodes ceased to air during the evening and now only air during the day on TV system ''A, suceeded by All My Children at 1:00pm ET. In the United States, independent distributor Program Partners and Sony Pictures Television, announced on 24 September 2006 that they acquired the syndication rights to the first 119 episodes of the show in the United States, and any subsequent new episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation was cleared in 60% of the country including all five of the top five media markets. By March 2007, Program Partners had cleared it in over 70% of the country after stations purchased the syndication rights. DVD and other media releases The first nine seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation have been released on DVD. The boxsets are released in Canada by Alliance Atlantis. In the United States, FUNimation Entertainment released the first six seasons and Echo Bridge Entertainment released seasons seven through nine. Each season boxset includes extra features such as pictures, karaoke sessions, audition tapes, bloopers, deleted scenes and more. The three-episode story arc from the fourth season in which Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes guest star has also been released as a single disc Region 1 DVD. FUNimation Entertainment released the disc on 8 November 2005, in two versions: the first subtitled as "Uncut, Uncensored and Unrated", and the second, "Rated." Each release has the same DVD extras, including an interview with Kevin Smith, bloopers and a Jay and Silent Bob Photo Album, except the Unrated release also features episode commentaries by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Stacie Mistysyn, the associate producer Jim Jackman and writer Aaron Martin. Degrassi: The Next Generation is also available in various new media formats. Episodes are streamed on the websites of MuchMusic and TeenNick to viewers with Canadian or U.S. IP addresses. Registered users of the Canadian and American iTunes Store can purchase episodes for playback on home computers and certain iPods. In Canada, Puretracks also offers episodes for download. They are issued as a Windows Media 10 file, and the purchaser owns them forever, although the episodes can only be burned onto a disc three times and copied to a device three times. In the US, Zune and the Xbox Live Marketplace sell every episode of the series. Storyline Season 1 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 1 Season 1 introduces the main characters and revolves around their relationships with each other. Season 2 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 2 Characters from the original Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, Christine "Spike" Nelson and Archie Simpson begin dating, much to Emma's dismay. Meanwhile, we meet Craig Manning, who deals with an abusive home-life. Season 3 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 3 Main storylines of this season include Marco Del Rossi coming out to his friends and Ellie Nash's self-destructive actions. This is also the first season where a main character leaves the show. Terri MacGregor (portrayed by Christina Schmidt ) is put into a coma by her boyfriend Rick Murray and leaves the school. Season 4 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 4 A main story arc for season 4 is the return of Rick Murray and the resistance put on by the student body against him coming back to Degrassi. The conflict escalates to a point where, because of yellow paint and white feathers being poured on him while on live television, Rick brings a gun to school. He shoots Jimmy Brooks (causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down and be put in a wheelchair), and then tries to shoot Emma Nelson, but Sean defends Emma, resulting in the gun firing at Rick, and causing the end of Rick's life. Season 5 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 5 Main character Ashley Kerwin departs for London, but returns in the season finale. J.T. and Liberty have to deal with their impending parenthood and the Christian-based Friendship Club begins to cause issues with the rest of the student body. Season 6 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 6 Many of the older main characters graduate and have to deal with college life, except for Jimmy Brooks and Spinner Mason, who have to return for an extra year. Paige begins to have problems at Banting and with Alex, while Sean and Craig return, causing relationships to be questioned. Clare Edwards is introduced as Darcy's nerdy and un-confident sister, and Degrassi loses one of it's own, J.T. Yorke. Season 7 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 7 In the wake of J.T. Yorke's death, Lakehurst High School has burned down and the students are forced to integrate into Degrassi Community High School. This causes huge problems within the school and many of the stories revolve around these conflicts and how to rectify them. At the same time in this second-semester, the college kids deal with more unexpected issues. Season 8 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 8 Several ongoing conflicts in this season revolve around Mia Jones becoming a model, Holly J. Sinclair attempting to get into a relationship with Blue Chessex, and the tensions that the new principal, The Shep, is causing with the students. In a separate storyline Emma Nelson, Liberty Van Zandt, and Manny Santos have begun their freshmen year at Smithdale University. Season 9 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 9 A new group of students enter Degrassi in the second semester of the year, most notably Declan Coyne and Jenna Middleton, who cause relationships to be questioned and friendships tested. Declan's sister, Fiona, starts dating Riley Stavros, even though she thinks she knows his secret and Johnny has a secret of his own, which could ruin Alli's life. At the same time, Emma may find true love, but is it Kelly? And Dave stirs up trouble. Season 10 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 10 Changes are awaiting the students at Degrassi. With a new principal, a rebuilt Dot, and new students stepping foot on the campus, the school is pushed to the edge. An on-and-off rivalry between new student Eli against Fitz, a harboring secret from Adam, a scandalous love triangle between Bianca, Drew and Alli, and a pregnancy that could flush Jenna's dream down the toilet, among others. But after a school dance spirals out of control, it brings new rules being enforced. How far will the students go before they crack? Season 11 Main Article: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 11 A crime of passion that reverberates throughout the summer and leads to an explosive conclusion as three new students enroll at Degrassi. New students: Jake Martin who will tell you like it is, Katie Matlin a fresh-face athlete who plays hard on the field but is soft when it comes to matters of the heart and Imogen Moreno who is anything but boring; are sure to shake up everything. After all the drama and turmoil that the previous summer brought to Degrassi another school year begins. As the students move up a grade and the seniors graduate a new set of freshman start off at the school. With new problems and some that are old the students try to endure the first semester of the new school year. Parodies and Spoofs * Shane Dawson, major youtuber, made a video with The Fine Bros. and other fellow youtubers spoofing Degrassi: The Next Generation which features new boy, Shane, going to Degrassi and meeting the characters such as: Marco, Ellie, Paige, Spinner, Manny, Emma, Peter, and Connor. It parodies their diseases, sexual past and present, and the actors' "facts" such as Connor's Asperger's Disease, Emma's bracelets from Jay, and saying that Shane Kippel has been on Degrassi for 10 years or so. You can check this parody out on Youtube. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kheErkUhRyU&feature=related * Again, Shane Dawson parodied the show the second time. He spoofed: Terri, Alli, Johnny, Paige, Isabella, Marco, Jimmy, Bruce the Moose, Holly J., Clare Liberty and Declan. Lauren Collins guest-starred in the spoof. You can check this out on Youtube too. 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